Two halves, 40 minutes each. Stoppages are short — minor injuries are treated on the field, the clock keeps running for most of them. Half-time is 10–12 minutes.

The six-tackle rule. The team in possession gets six attempts to score or advance. After each tackle, the tackled player plays the ball with their foot to a teammate (the "play-the-ball"). The defending line has to retreat 10 metres before the next tackle.

The last tackle. Teams almost always kick on the sixth tackle — either deep downfield to pin opponents back, or with a high "bomb" their teammates can chase and contest. Running on the sixth tackle without scoring or kicking is rare and usually a mistake.

Tries. Scored by grounding the ball over the opponent's try-line. 4 points. The conversion (a kick at goal from a line in front of where the try was scored) is worth 2 more.

Penalties. A team awarded a penalty can opt to kick at goal (2 points), tap-and-go to attack quickly, or kick into touch and take a tap restart from where the ball went out. Drop goals (in open play) are worth 1 point and are usually used to win tight matches in the dying minutes.

Sin bins. Serious infringements get a 10-minute sin bin (the offending player leaves the field, team plays with 12). Very serious offences get a red card and the player is gone for the rest of the match.

For match nights at home, a sports-optimised soundbar makes commentary noticeably clearer.

Players wear shirt numbers tied to specific positions, not arbitrary squad numbers (the way they are in football/soccer). The starting 13 are 1–13; bench is 14–17.

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• 1 — Fullback. Last line of defence, a key counter-attacker. Reads the play behind the defensive line.
• 2 & 5 — Wingers. Try-scorers on the touchline. Need pace and aerial ability for bombs.
• 3 & 4 — Centres. Outside backs who provide passes for wingers and tackle their opposite numbers.
• 6 — Stand-off / five-eighth. A creative half who runs the attack alongside the scrum-half.
• 7 — Scrum-half / halfback. The chief organiser. Usually the team's main kicker and goalkicker.
• 8 & 10 — Props. Big forwards who carry the ball into contact and tackle in the middle.
• 9 — Hooker. The dummy-half. Distributes from every play-the-ball, makes more tackles than anyone else.
• 11 & 12 — Second-rowers. Mobile forwards combining ball-carrying with edge defence.
• 13 — Lock / loose forward. The most mobile of the forwards; often a leader and ball-player.
• 14–17 — Bench / interchange. Usually three forwards plus a utility back.